Dreyfous will receive the Amicus Award which is given to friends of the documentary genre who have contributed significantly to the industry. It has only been given three times in the 29 year history of the awards. Dreyfous will be the first woman to receive the award. She’s known for her work executive producing and producing some of the important documentaries. Her credits include Academy Award winner Born Into Brothels, The InvisibleWar and The Crash Reel. She also co-founded Impact Partners Film Fund–an organization that brings filmmakers and financiers together with a focus on documentaries that create social change. Dreyfous also founded the Utah Film Center where she is the Board Chair.

IDA’s Courage Under Fire award will be given to Laura Poitras. It’s given to recognize “conspicuous bravery in the pursuit of truth.” It’s presented by the peers of documentary filmmakers to those who put freedom of speech above all else including their own personal safety. Poitras, alongside Glenn Greenwald, broke the story of Edward Snowden, NSA whistleblower, and uncovered the PRISM program. She’s been working on a trilogy of documentary films about America post 9/11. The first two, My Country, My Country and The Oath, have been nominated for many awards including an Academy Award, Independent Spirit Award, Emmy and a Gotham Award for The Oath. Poitras is currently working on the last film in the trilogy about NSA surveillance.

Alex Gibney will receive a career achievement award.

IDA Executive Director, Michael Lumpkin commented on the awards.

The outstanding individuals IDA has chosen to honor this year represent the very best of our thriving documentary filmmaking community. The dedication of
Gibney, Poitras and Dreyfous to the art and craft of nonfiction storytelling has contributed greatly to expanding our understanding of the shared human
experience and creating a more informed, compassionate and connected world.

The full list of of nominees for the IDA Documentary Awards will be announced in late October. The awards will be held on December 6th in Los Angeles.